


Food for the Soul.

by ImfictionWriting



Series: Food for the Soul [1]
Category: Lucifer (TV)
Genre: Attempt at Humor, Background Dan Espinoza, Background Lucifer Morningstar (Lucifer TV), Bracelet Bros, Dan Espinoza & Lucifer Morningstar Friendship, F/M, Food, Humor, Talking, Teasing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-15
Updated: 2020-09-15
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:54:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,242
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26479792
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ImfictionWriting/pseuds/ImfictionWriting
Summary: Lucifer and Dan in Chinatown on the search for a missing witness talking about food and Lucifer's time on Earth.It is a story about Language, Misunderstandings, Friendship and Food.A beginning chapter for two series. 'Food For the Soul' and 'Movies and Mayhem'.
Relationships: Chloe Decker/Lucifer Morningstar
Series: Food for the Soul [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1925044
Comments: 12
Kudos: 39





	Food for the Soul.

**Author's Note:**

> Lucifer TV Show Characters not mine. Originals are. Just having fun.
> 
> All constructive criticism will be thoughtfully considered with a great deal of thanks in advance.  
> Please tell me of any and all oopsies. I do hope someone finds this entertaining.
> 
> This story is a jumping off point for two series.   
> A food one filled with innuendo, teasing and a little bit of gluttony.  
> A movie reaction one, where characters are introduced to movies the others have loved and want to share.

China Town, Los Angeles. Not in the area the tourists stayed in, with prominent English translations, the offer of easy Credit Card payments and a Thousand Yelp reviews for each restaurant. Rather, they were in the less visible areas where it was easier for someone to hide, and harder for someone to order food.

Lucifer had been more than happy to go with Dan while Chloe had continued to 'follow the money'. This time of the year she was happy to stay in the precinct. All the way through 'May-Gray', 'June-Gloom','No-Sky July,' and the rare 'Fogust' Chloe could be seen gazing out windows intermittently throughout the day with a forlorn expression. She would try her best, but Chloe was a sunflower at heart. As much as she actively avoided direct sun contact with her skin, she needed to see it and know that blue skies were up there to be truly happy. Working in the middle of a brightly lit building it was easier for her to ignore the gloom outside. And easier to stay cool.

Today was a particularly gloomy, highly humid and altogether unpleasant to be traipsing around in alleyways day. So Chloe had delegated. Or so she had described it on ordering them out of her sight. Dan was resigned to grudge work and had wanted to get the job over and done with and Lucifer had been again ordered by Chloe to 'go' when he had suggested that instead he could rearrange her desk.

Dan would ordinarily have brought a translator with him coming to this area of Chinatown, but as Lucifer would often boast in the middle of the precinct, much to Chloe's dismay and with much rolling of her eyes, he _was_ a cunning linguist.

Lucifer would argue that he also spoke every language.

Dan thought The Devil looked quite pleased with himself as they walked alleyway to alleyway searching for the obscure marking that they had been told was the entrance to the area they needed to find to locate their current runaway witness.

“You seem to really be enjoying being here.”

Lucifer had been grinning since they parked the car. “Oh, yes Daniel. I have traveled around China a great many times during a, ...great many times in history.” Lucifer stopped walking to further address Dan's question. “I have been to 'The Northern City' so many times, I've lost count of all the name changes!” Lucifer's smile broadened. “The food here is so much better than in Hell, you know.”

Dan didn't need to have ever tried Hell-food to know that was true and nodded. “You've been around so long, you must have tried every food that has ever been invented!”

“No, Daniel...” Lucifer shook his head emphatically. “Not at all, and there are always new delights to try. Like Cronuts and Doritos Locos Tacos. It's amazing the level of creativity your lot has with combining different ingredients together and coming up with something wonderful.”

“My lot?” Dan asked puzzled.

Lucifer sighed. “Yes, your lot, the human kind lot. Do keep up, Daniel.” Lucifer looked at him assessingly. “You aren't on one of those carb-free monstrosities of a diet at the moment are you?”

“Not at the moment...”

“Good, that can't possibly be good for you.”

“Well being fat and having Cardiac Disease and Diabetes like all my grand parents before they died in their 50's and early 60's isn't good for me either!”

“Hmm, well those puddings didn't do your kidneys any good did they?”

“It was one kidney stone. And your lawyers sued them for me and paid for all my hospital bills and Trixie's education until 2050! So all up it was a very painful experience that was worth it. And it was delicious. At the time. Although the whole irony of getting me a pudding when I was in the hospital wasn't lost on me.”

Lucifer stayed quiet about that 'lawsuit' that didn't happen _quite_ the way Daniel thought it did.

“I've seen you eat a Cauliflower Crust pizza _and_ claim to enjoy it, Daniel. Forgive me for being dubious about your sense of taste.”

“Hey, cauliflower is delicious.”

“Smells like the fetid-flatulence of a constipated hell beast when being cooked.”

“Not as bad as boiled cabbage.”

Lucifer grimaced, then nodded. That was true.

“Cooking Brussels Sprouts can be bad too, but really only when being boiled, fried is OK. And off course it's good with bacon. Have you ever tried Kentucky-Style Fried Cabbage, Lucifer?”

Lucifer's eyes almost bugged out of his head. “I cannot imagine what that monstrosity would taste like. I take it back. Your lot are terrible at food.”

“No, seriously, it's a way to cook cabbage in Kentucky and other southern states. It's cabbage, onion and bacon fried in bacon fat until it becomes sweet and delicious. It almost has the same flavor as something Asian.”

Lucifer started looking less dubious listening to Dan at first thinking it was cabbage deep fried like the chicken! “I've tried Southern Food and Soul Food, it's delicious. Fried Chicken, Collard Greens and Mashed potatoes. Biscuits and gravy. I think I may have had something close to as you describe in a hash.”

“Oh yeah, that does sound good. My grandparents all settled in Texas. Great food but lots of ill health because of it.”

“Your grandparents likely struggled in their youth with malnutrition too though, don't forget that.”

“Yeah that's a fair point.” His grandparents had always struggled financially, but they had worked hard and there was always food. Come to think about it, from what he remembered as a young child there _was_ a sense of food hoarding in his Abuela's kitchen. And basement. And storage shed at the rear of their house. She made the best food though. “Wow I'm hungry now.”

Lucifer looked around the alley way, no matching symbol and looked at the time on his phone. “We can stop for lunch, we are in the right place for food.”

“Yeah, it's been a real roller coaster...”

“And I do know how you dislike roller coasters, Daniel.” Lucifer interrupted.

Dan pointed a sarcastic looking grin the other man's way before continuing. “As I was saying, we've been walking these alley ways alternately getting the enticing smells of the food being cooked and then a step further the utter stench of an L.A. Alleyway that hasn't seen rain or a power washer in it's entire existence.” His stomach had been alternately growling in hunger then feeling queasy in disgust. It seems it had decided to stay on 'hungry' mode, for the moment.

Lucifer calculated the date and translated it into the Chinese Lunar calendar. Almost the Fifth day of the Fifth month! Duanwu, party time! Lucifer was always up for a good party. Surely there would be preparations being made near by. It made him fancy celebration food.

“I fancy some Egg Roll Biscuits.” Lucifer said as they walked towards the busy road at the 'good' end of the alley.

Daniel stopped for a moment to imagine what an egg roll, with it's savory vegetable and meat filling combined with a soft fluffy biscuit would taste like. 'Maybe it's like a hot pocket?' He wondered.

“Although the Filipino version with chocolate is delicious. Or the Argentinian version with Dulce de Leche. Mmm.”

Dan stopped walking. He couldn't imagine an egg roll with Dulce de Leche. “That sounds absolutely disgusting. You're just messing with me now.”

Lucifer turned back to see why Daniel had stopping walking. Had he seen the symbol they were looking for painted on a door? Lucifer looked around, no symbol and back to Daniel who had a grimace on his face. Lucifer backtracked the conversation.

“They are not disgusting. They are delicious. Egg Roll Biscuits, Hong Kong Love letters?” Daniel had no idea what he was talking about it seemed. “Sweet thin biscuits rolled into tubes. Barquillo?”

“Wafer cookies?” Dan asked rolling his eyes. “Why must you always make everything so difficult, Lucifer. “'Egg Roll Biscuits'.” Dan mocked with a fake British accent.

“But that is what they are called Daniel.” Lucifer stressed.

“Not in here in The United States.”

Now it was Lucifer's turn to roll his eyes. “You may have lived here all your life. But I spent the majority of it in Hell. So forgive me if sometimes I use the incorrect word. I do speak all languages you know. Sometimes it all gets a bit messed up with all the dialects. Then the way language changes over time...” Lucifer ended his point with a shrug then turned around and continued on wards to the street.

“Yes, Lucifer, you keep telling us, loudly, how much of a linguist you are.”

Lucifer stopped, turned back to his friend and smirked before facing the street again.

Dan frowned. He knew Lucifer was old, he had to be old to have been written about in The Bible which was thousands of years old. And Dan had known from personally researching him that 'Lucifer Morningstar' hadn't been present in LA prior to 2011. How long had he been in The US in the last century?

“Lucifer,...”

“Yes, Daniel?”

“How long have you spent in The US in, say the last fifty years?”

Lucifer stopped and cocked his head to the side a moment, before nodding to himself and shrugging. “Oh, about 11, 12 years on Earth. There about. I would pop by for a couple weeks here and there before bloody Amenadiel found me.”

Dan's brain stopped for a moment, adding the time before Trixie was born, she was older than the amount of time Lucifer had been out of Hell in the last 50 years! “That, ...that actually explains a lot.” Dan started walking again, shaking his head in wonder. No surprise he sometimes seemed so childish.

“We should get proper food before dessert.” Dan suggested.

“Do you like noodles and spicy food, Dan?”

Dan stopped, squinted his eyes at The Devil who was grinning maniacally. He hardly ever called Dan by his preferred name unless he was teasing him in some way. Dan nodded warily anyway. He did like spicy food.

Lucifer put a hand on his shoulder. “Excellent. Then we can get some Dan Dan Noodles, Dan.”

Dan groaned. He should have seen that coming. “That's not the first time I've heard that, you know. I know what that is.”

Lucifer continued to laugh at him. “Still didn't know it was coming though. Did you?”

Dan rolled his eyes then bumped his shoulder into the other man's arm. “Come on.”

\---

They ate some truly excellent noodles that were perfectly 'bouncy' and the sauce deliciously meaty and not too spicy. The perfect amount of heat and numbing. Lucifer had spoken with his new friend 'Auntie' behind the counter for several minutes and Dan suspected he had ordered less spice for him specially as Lucifer had more visible chili in his bowl. It hadn't stopped Lucifer adding more hot oil and vinegar to his bowl though! Dan supposed if anyone could stand spice and heat, it would be The Devil.

“So you've only been here 12 years?” Dan asked.

“In the last half century. Amenadiel and the rest of the feathered flock must have been busy before that. Left me alone for a bit before that.”

Dan nodded and wiped his mouth with a napkin. “So there would be a whole lot of stuff that you just don't know about. Like movies,...”

“I do have a television, Daniel. Several in fact.”

“Yeah, sure. But do you know who The Goonies are, or, or, ...ah Hans Gruber?” Dan said recalling favorite movie memories from when he was young.

Lucifer continued to have a blank stare.

“You don't know who John McClane is?” Dan leaned forward and whispered “You know, 'Yippee-ki-yay, motherfucker'?”

“I have no clue, Daniel.” But it did sound like the type of thing that one would say to Daniel, for obvious reasons to do with his Mum, Lucifer thought.

Dan frowned and narrowed his eyes. “You've never seen Die Hard?”

“Oh is that the Christmas Movie?” Lucifer sat back and grimaced. “I Do Not watch Christmas movies, Daniel.”

“It's hardly a Christmas movie, it's the best action movie ever made. It taught other movies how to action, man.”

“If it's not a Christmas movie why do people always say it's their favorite Christmas movie?”

Dan was sure that Lucifer thought that he was making a point, but never having seen Die Hard he had no idea what he was talking about.

“My place, next weekend. We are having a Die Hard marathon.”

\---

“Barquillo are best with Cajeta, by the way.” Dan said, the plain Chinese cookie version of a wafer roll were very nice, buttery, crispy but overall too eggy in his opinion.

“Cajeta?” Lucifer asked grinning madly.

“Yeah?” Dan said as a question given Lucifer's grin. “It's Caramel made with Goat's Milk...”

“I hate goats. That sounds disgusting...” Lucifer's smirk quickly turned into a frown at the mention of goats.

“Oh, no Cajeta is awesome.”

And Lucifer was smirking again. “You like to put your mouth on it?”

Dan frowned at that turn of phrase. “More like put it in my mouth...” He stopped speaking as Lucifer's grin grew. Dan rolled his eyes, “OK, Lucifer, I'll bite. What are you laughing at now?”

“You'll bite, Daniel. This conversation is getting better and better. You see in Argentina...”

  
  


The End.

  
  


  
  


  
  


  
  


  
  


**Author's Note:**

> I left that last part for you to google ;-) I reckon Dan would be concentrating on what he is eating and talking about something he's had all his life, he wouldn't at that moment think up what Lucifer is gonna tease him with. What do you think? 
> 
> Please comment if something doesn't make sense. I won't know I've made a mistake unless someone tells me. Alternately if you like this, you may like my other stories.
> 
> Now next chapter, Spotted Dick or Blood Pudding? Trick question you'll get both. Eventually. ;-)


End file.
